13 December: A large cloud mass affects S.A. and easternW.A. This typified the month of December in which Giles (W.A.) had a record wet month.

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Prepared by Climate Analysis Section,National Climate Centre,

Melbourne.

Department of the Environment and Heritage

11 February: Well developed monsoon trough over the north of Australia with tropical cyclone Winsome located near western Gulf of Carpentaria. 2000/01 summer was extremely wet in the north and west.

Annual Mean Temperature Anomalies For Australia

-1.5

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000Year

Tem

pera

ture

Ano

mal

ies

(˚C)

5 Year Mean

Reference Period

1. Annual temperature record

Anomalies based on a 30 year mean calculated from 1961 to 1990

2001 Maximum Temperature Anomaly (oC) 2001 Minimum Temperature Anomaly (oC)

1

For the third consecutive year, the all-Australian mean temperature was close to the 1961-90 normals, being0.09oC below normal in 2001. Maximum and minimum temperatures anomalies were 0.02oC and –0.19oC respectively. Generally the east of the continent experienced warmer than normal temperatures during 2001, with the wetter central and western parts reporting cooler than normal temperatures.

Compared with recent decades, the Australian annual temperatures for the past three years has been relatively cool.Despite this, mean Australian temperatures show a general rise during the 20th century, in line with global temperatures. According to a preliminary estimate released by the World Meteorological Organization on 18 December 2001, the global mean temperature for 2001 was the second warmest on record (since 1861), with Australia being one of the few regions that was not above normal.

January February

March April

May June

�Maximum Temperature : Departures from average (oC)

2. Monthly maximum temperatures - January to December 2001

(Based on a 30 year mean calculated from 1961-1990)

Maximum temperatures were generally above average in the south and/or east of the country, particularly in January, February June, September and December. Positive anomalies were notably strong in southern parts of Australia in January. In contrast, there were some strong negative anomalies in the western half of Australia in February and March. Also, negative anomalies were widespread from October to December being particularly intense around central Australia.

2

-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6

July August

September October

November December

�Maximum Temperature : Departures from average (oC)(Based on a 30 year mean calculated from 1961-1990) 3

-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6

January February

March April

May June

�Minimum Temperature : Departures from average (oC)

3. Monthly minimum temperatures - January to December 2001

(Based on a 30 year mean calculated from 1961-1990)

In common with the maximum temperatures, minimum temperatures were generally above average in the south and/or east of the country in January to February, in June and in September. The warmest month was January when anomalies of +3 to +6oC were recorded in southern Australia. Negative anomalies tended to dominate from March to the end of the year with the Australia-wide minimum temperature anomaly being negative in each month apart from June, July and September.

4

-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6

July August

September October

November December

�Minimum Temperature : Departures from average (oC)(Based on a 30 year mean calculated from 1961-1990) 5

-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6

January February

March April

May June

4. Monthly distribution of rainfall deciles - January to December 2001Widespread above to very much above average falls were common in the western half to two-thirds of Australia, with the exception of southwest WA which was particularly dry between March and June. Monthly rainfall tended to be average to below average across Queensland, NSW and Victoria with January, May, August and December being the driest months.

6Monthly distribution of Rainfall deciles

(Based on a 102 year climatology of gridded fields from 1900-2001)

Lowest onRecord

Very muchBelow Average

Below Average Average Above

AverageVery much

Above AverageHighest on

Record

1 2 - 3 4 - 7 8 - 9 10

July August

September October

November December

7Monthly distribution of Rainfall deciles

(Based on a 102 year climatology of gridded fields from 1900-2001)

Lowest onRecord

Very muchBelow Average

Below Average Average Above

AverageVery much

Above AverageHighest on

Record

1 2 - 3 4 - 7 8 - 9 10

Distribution of 2001 Annual Rainfall Deciles (based on preliminary data)

Distribution of 2001 Annual Rainfall Totals (based on preliminary data)

8

Maximum temperature anomaly for the period 10-23 January.

Mean maximum temperaturefor the period 10-23 January.

5. Significant Events in 2001: A RetrospectiveA La Niña climate pattern dominated the weather over northern and central Australia in the early months of 2001, resulting in very much above average rainfall. The waning of this pattern in autumn saw a return to more normal rainfall over most of the country. However, southern areas of the country experienced a mostly dry winter - early spring, associated with relatively weak midlatitude westerly flow over the Australian sector. Unusually cool conditions prevailed over the southern half in theperiod October to December, except along the east coast where serious bushfires broke out near the end of December.

For the year as a whole, rainfall was well above average over the western two-thirds of the continent, with a very wet 2000/01summer in the north and west. Central Australia received very much above average rainfall during January, March, June, October and December. On the other hand, much of eastern Australia experienced a dry 2001, and the southwestern corner was particularly dry, with record low autumn and early winter rains. For the third consecutive year, Australia as a whole had close to normal temperatures: the east of the continent was generally warmer than normal, while over central and western parts the wet conditions were accompanied by lower than normal temperatures in 2001.

January and February were exceptionally hot overextensive areas of south-central and southeasternAustralia. In the second and third weeks of January,extreme heat affected a broad area of southern andinland Australia, with maximum temperatures at many centres approaching those of the infamous January 1939 heatwave. The main period of heat occurred between the 10th and 23rd, when most of central and eastern Australia was baked by a merciless 14-day heat-wave. The temperature reached 45oC somewhere in the country on all butone day during this period, peaking at 48oC at several locations including Ceduna, Kyancutta and Wudinna in South Australia, and White Cliffs and Tibooburra in NSW. Even western Sydney reached 46oC on the 15th. Over this fortnight, maximum temperatures were 5 to 10oC above normal over virtually all of S.A., the western half of NSW and northern Victoria (see map above). The mean for the period approached 45oC at Oodnadatta and Marree in northern South Australia (see map below). Unsually hot and many cases dry conditions prevailed over essentially the same areas in February, and also extended into Tasmania.

By contrast, heavy rain fell late in January around Alice Springs, which received 240mm in four days(annual average, 280mm). Flooding closed off most roads, and temporarily isolated Alice Springs.Heavy rain also soaked northern and eastern New South Wales - many northeastern centres received over 200mm in the 24 hours ended 9amon 2nd February, with peak falls up to 550mm in72 hours. The Sydney metropolitan area received 150-250mm in the 48 hours ended 9am on 1st February, with heaviest falls in southwestern suburbs. Flash flooding was frequent, and there wassome river flooding, but preceding dry conditionsmay have reduced the overall severity of flooding.

As the northern wet season ended and the La Niña-like pattern waned, conditions in April and May were mainly dry over Australia as high pressure predominated. Generally clear night skies led to below normal minimum temperatures in most areas.Southern Victoria, suffering from years of below average rainfall, experienced heavy, though somewhat patchy, rain in late March, and again in late April. In the latter event, some of the areas worst-affected by the drought that commenced late in 1996 benefited most - notably the area west and southwest of Melbourne, which received over 150mm in four days. Parts of the hilly country southeast and southwest of Melbourne received as much as 400mm at this time. But there was a quick return to dry conditions, so the rain had no lasting impact on storages. Southwestern Australia continued to experience dry conditions - Perth record its lowest ever September to April rainfall total of 98.4mm (normal 258mm). The previous record (for over 124 years of record) was 114mm in 1957-58.

9

By the end of May, concern was being felt about signs of possible El Niño event development, but by mid-June this development appeared to have ceased. Northwest cloudbands during the first fortnight of June dumped 50-150mm over broadareas of central Australia and inland South Australia, areas where the annual average is less than 300mm.

The period from June to September was unusually dry and mild over much of southeastern Australia. In southwestern Australia, which is heavily dependent on winter rainfall, winter 2001 was extremely dry, with many places experiencingrecord low rainfall. In Perth, despite a "one-off" fall of 88.6mm late in July, this was the third driest winter on record, andcame on top of an extremely dry previous nine months - all superimposed on a mutidecadal "dry" extending back to the late1960s. In early September, water restrictions were imposed on Perth residents, and on people in the inland Goldfields region who access water via a pipeline from the coast. The diagram below shows those areas of W.A. that have been deficient in rainfall since the start of the 2000 southern wet season. By contrast, Broome in northwest Australia received 90.2mm of rain on 17th July, easily beating the previous wettest monthly total of 72mm in 1956.

The mid-north coast area of NSW also had a very dry winter, and warm gusty winds fanned many bushfires in late winter-early spring. Scrub and grass fires were also more extensive than usual in the tropical savannah regions of the Northern Territory in August and September.

The period from October to December was unusually cool over most of the southern half of Australia, with maximum temperatures in October and December up to 3-5oC below average over south-central Australia. Most of the country experienced above average rainfall in October and November, with well above average rainfall in the former month relievingthe prospect of water restrictions in the Melbourne metropolitan area. Frequent tropical moisture inflows into central Australiain late November and through much of December, produced extremely heavy rain and flooding in that area. Early in December as much as 260mm fell within a week, in an area where the annual average rainfall is only about 250-300mm ayear. At Giles, in central Australia near the W. A./N.T./S.A. border, the December total rainfall of 338mm was the highest recorded there in any month. In fact, it was the highest official registration in the country for the month of December 2001.

In contrast to these conditions, the eastern coast from southern New South Wales to the northern Cape York Peninsula waswarmer than normal over the last three months. The onset of persistent hot dry northwesterly winds late in December resulted in disastrous bush-fires over the eastern New South Wales, in coastal districts and the adjacent ranges. The fires broke out on Christmas Eve and continued to burn through the first week of January 2002. As in January 1994, fires badly affected populated areas such as the Blue Mountains, and penetrated into some Sydney suburbs. Major losses occurred to property (over 170 homes destroyed) and forest areas (nearly 600, 000 hectares burnt out), but fortunately there were no deaths. More than 20,000 firefighters from around the Australia were involved in the battle to suppress the fires.

10

Rainfall Deficiencies: 19 months fromApril 2000 to October 2001

A. Broome: 90.2mm in 24 hrs on 17th July. Previous monthly record of July was 72mm in 1956.

B. Very wet year especially January (240mm fell on 4 days in Alice Springs), March, June, October, and December (337.6mm Giles was wettest month ever).

C. Perth: 88.6mm in 24 hrs to 9am 30th July - 2nd wettest July day ever.

D. Extremely dry year. Very dry conditions extended back to April 2000.

E. Very dry year - many places had only about 50% of their annual average rainfall.

F. Dry winter-spring: bushfires mid-north coast late winter-spring. Persistent hot and dry westerly winds drove widespread severe bushfires from Christmas eve.

G. Heavy rain in April and again in October eased long running drought.

H. Cool, wet October -December: unusually high number of thunderstorms.

N. Extensive scrub-fires late winter-spring followed prolific wet season rainfall.

O. Innamincka: thunderstorm dumps 106mm in an hour on 5th February.

P. Marree: 23 consecutive days of 40.0 degrees C or higher from 1-23 January. Old record was 18 days in 1979.

Q. 2 February: Fire destroys 7 houses at Tulka near Port Lincoln.

R. Record wind-gust for NSW (excluding Lord Howe Island) at Richmond: 174km/h on 3rd December.

S. Melbourne has latest ever first 30 degrees C maximum in spring-summer (29th December).

T. Mt.Read: Rain on every day in June.

U. Maatsuyker Island: 172 km/h wind gust on 24th June.

I. Exceptionally cool last 3 months particularly December.

J. Extreme heat during first three weeks of January. Daily temperatures reached 47-48 degrees C.

K. Very hot in Tasmania during January and February.

L. Warm year. Maximum temperatures were 1 to 2 degrees above average.

M. Heatwave in late December- the worst in SE Queensland since the great heatwave of 1903.

11

*Giles

B

D

E

F

H

*C

G

N

N

*

*

*

O *P *

*

Q R

S

TU

*

K

I

JI & J

L

M

L & M

I

*A

Australian temperature and rainfall extremes for the year 2001Temperatures in degree C, rainfall in millimetres

(Daily minimum temperatures & daily rainfall are for the 24 hours ending at 9am on the date shown, daily maximum temperatures are 24 hours beginning on date shown.)

WESTERN AUSTRALIAHighest daily maximum temperature ...... 47.2 at Forrest on 13/01Lowest daily minimum temperature ....... -6.1 at York on 05/07Highest average maximum temperature .... 35.2 at Wyndham Lowest average minimum temperature ..... 7.9 at Bridgetown Highest daily rainfall ................. 262 at Mount Florance on 22/02Highest yearly rainfall ................ 1464 at Kimberley Research Station

NORTHERN TERRITORYHighest daily maximum temperature ...... 45.1 at Yulara on 18/01Lowest daily minimum temperature ....... -4.0 at Uluru Rangers on 30/07Highest average maximum temperature .... 34.6 at Timber Creek Lowest average minimum temperature ..... 11.8 at Alice SpringsHighest daily rainfall ................. 293 at Jindare on 11/01Highest yearly rainfall ................ 2158 at Labelle Downs

SOUTH AUSTRALIAHighest daily maximum temperature ...... 48.0 at Wudinna on 13/01Lowest daily minimum temperature ....... -3.6 at Gluepot Reserve on 30/06Highest average maximum temperature .... 28.9 at MarreeLowest average minimum temperature ..... 7.6 at YongalaHighest daily rainfall ................. 125 at Wilpena Pound on 01/09Highest yearly rainfall ................ 1376 at Mount Lofty

QUEENSLANDHighest daily maximum temperature ...... 47.4 at Thargomindah on 15/01Lowest daily minimum temperature ....... -5.8 at Oakey on 16/06Highest average maximum temperature .... 33.6 at Croydon Lowest average minimum temperature ..... 8.7 at StanthorpeHighest daily rainfall ................. 398 at Tree House Creek on 18/02Highest yearly rainfall ................ 6518 at Bellenden Ker Top Station

NEW SOUTH WALESHighest daily maximum temperature ...... 47.6 at White Cliffs on 15/01Lowest daily minimum temperature .......-11.7 at Charlotte Pass on 02/07 & on 23/07Highest average maximum temperature .... 28.1 at TibooburraLowest average minimum temperature ..... 1.0 at ThredboHighest daily rainfall ................. 650 at Leigh on 09/03Highest yearly rainfall ................ 2820 at Leigh

VICTORIAHighest daily maximum temperature ...... 46.6 at Mildura on 14/01Lowest daily minimum temperature ....... -7.1 at Falls Ck on 23/08 & Mt Hotham on 17/08 Highest average maximum temperature .... 24.3 at MilduraLowest average minimum temperature ..... 2.9 at Falls Creek Highest daily rainfall ................. 269 at Mt Sabine on 22/04Highest yearly rainfall ................ 2190 at Rocky Valley

TASMANIAHighest daily maximum temperature ...... 39.2 at Bushy Park on 03/02Lowest daily minimum temperature ....... -9.7 at Liawenee on 23/05Highest average maximum temperature .... 18.5 at CampaniaLowest average minimum temperature ..... 1.6 at LiaweneeHighest daily rainfall ................. 151 at Gray on 24/04Highest yearly rainfall ................>3180 at Mount Read *

AUSTRALIAHighest average temperature ............ 28.7 at WyndhamLowest average temperature ............. 4.3 at Thredbo

* Mt Read had missing data, particularly in August.

Capital City Temperatures and Rainfall Summary for 2001

City Highest Temperature Lowest Temperature Average Maximum Average Minimum Rainfall (mm) & no. rain daysDate Date Long term Average Long term Average Long term Average (mm)

Anomaly Anomaly Decile Range(°C) (°C) (°C) (°C)

Perth 39.7 0.7 24.2 11.9 688.6 on 106 days3 March 13 July 24* 12* 869*

+0.2 –0.1 2Darwin 36.6 15.3 32.1 23.1 1451.0 on 128 days

27 September 1 August 32.0 23.3 1705.5+0.1 –0.2 2

Adelaide 43.3 2.8 22.1 12.2 717.8 on 132 days13 January 18 June 22.1* 12.1* 585*

0.0 +0.1 10Brisbane 39.7 3.5 26.7 15.9 1061.2 on 119 days

24 December 8 July 25.6 16.4 1217.7+1.1 –0.5 5

Sydney 35.9 5.8 23.1 14.7 1358.6 on 133 days24 December 7 July 22.1 14.2 1302.2

+1.0 +0.5 7Canberra 39.9 -6 20.7 6.5 500 on 90 days

24 January 30 May 19.6 6.5 623.2+1.1 0.0 3

Melbourne 40.7 3.8 20.5 12.0 605.2 on 146 days11 January 22 July 20.0 11.0 638.8

0.5 +1.0 4Hobart 37.7 0.0 17.3 9.1 681.8 on 165 days

8 February 5 July 17.1 8.7 586.4+0.2 +0.4 8

Notes:1.* These long term averages are estimates because of a recent change in the official observation site.2. The long term averages are based on the 1961 to 1990 period.3. Decile Ranges: 1 - Lowest 10% of records, 2 - next lowest 10% of records, .. ,10 - highest 10% of records.4. Data may not yet have been quality controlled.